Well…the ratings were introduced with this version and Ive had mixed emotions on it. It also included a way to rate users but we decided that was a bit too personal so it got smoked. However, I did leave the rating of threads in because I thought it seemed fairly harmless. If we get to a situation where ratings of threads are putting people off we can drop it from the system. For example at present, anonymous users can rate posts. So anyone can come in and rate a thread. Generally if someone gives a thread one star its pretty much an insult in my book so that is something we will have our eyes on. As Jon said you can rate threads simply by choosing from the drop down box at the bottom of the page while viewing a thread.